Apparatus for destruction of documents

ABSTRACT

Apparatus and a method for fully destroying papers, packaged paper and other documents or combustibles in a safe.

Mar. 19, 1974 United States Patent 1191 EiPaola et al.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3/1944 Owen........ 8/1971 1l/l97l i 1 APPARATUS FOR DESTRUCTION OF DOCUMENTS inventors: Vincent J.Dilaola, Elkton; Ralph 110/]8 R Kalkhof... 110/18 R x H. Allen,Churchville, both of Md.

The United States of America as Wm I e n w n me n ma LD 798Pedersen....... 59! 2/1972 503 8/1972 Primary Examiner-Dennis L. TaylorAttorney, Agent, or Firm-Edward .J. Kelly; Herbert Berl [22] Filed:

T C A R T s B A n a r e D. a p me 21 mm H and UADfm 0 6 R M 8 2 113 32 O3 1% -3 11 3.9 28 4 H 9 2 5 w m w 1 7 9 W3 2 0 w i 0 m mm6 n "2 m H uummc r "3 "U ..l U C mm Umh ll l 2 00 555 [11.11.

pparatus and a method for fully destroying papers,

(1 other documents or combustibles 4 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures APPARATUSFOR DESTRUCTION OF DOCUMENTS STATEMENT OF GOVERNMENT INTEREST Theinvention described herein may be manufactured, used, and licensed by orfor the Government for governmental purposes without the payment to usof any royalty thereon.

BRIEF SUMMARY Those in charge of classified or secret material sometimesmust destroy combustible papers and documents as quickly as possible.Often these combustibles are stored in safes or cabinets. In emergencysituations valuable time is required to unlock the safes. Sometimescombinations cannot be remembered, or the safes just seem to beimpossible to open.

Even when the safes are open the material is slow to burn, books must betorn out page-by-page or shredded, and other bulky materials must behand-fed pieceby-piece to the fire. They burn slowly and the ashes mustbe stirred and checked for unburned portions.

If a shredding machine is required it is expensive to buy, bulky tostore, and expensive to maintain and check periodically to make sure itis in operating condition. Power failures could render. the shredderinoperable.

With the present apparatus and method combustibles can be destroyed muchmore rapidly. It is not necessary to remove the combustibles from thesafe or other cabinet or container. It is not necessary to hand-feed thecombustibles to a fire. It is not necessary to store large shreadingapparatus nearby. And, it is not necessary to fumble for keys or try toremember lock combinations to open safes that just do not seem to openin an emergency with everyone excited.

IN THE DRAWING FIG. 1 diagrammatically illustrates part of the inventionin one drawer of a file cabinet;

FIG. 2 illustrates a cross-sectional detail;

FIG. 3 illustrates an igniter and fusible plug;

FIG. 4 illustrates an oxygen bottle and igniter switch attached to theapparatus.

Cabinet 1 has drawers 2, 3 and 4 with handles 2a, 3a and 4a. Apparatusto assist in burning combustibles in drawer 3 is illustrated in detail.Similar apparatus could be incorporated for each drawer of the cabinet.A grid 5, of steel screen, for example, is supported by spacers 6 and aperforated oxygen tube 7 extends forwardly from opening 8 at the rear ofthe drawer and is preferably carried by the drawer. An oxygen supplytube 9 extends through the rear of the cabinet at hole 10 andsubstantially contacts igniter l1 behind fusible plug 12. Oxygen supplyfrom pressurized bottle 13 is controlled by valve 14. Switch 15 sets offigniter 11.

In operation, one need only close igniter switch 15 and open oxygenvalve 14. Igniter 11 and fusible plug 12 disintegrate and admit flamingfragments of igniter 11 to tube 7 which quickly sets fire tocombustibles in the cabinet drawer. Such combustibles, in the presenceof oxygen, are quickly destroyed. The carbon dioxide and other productsof combustion escape through cracks around the cabinet drawer. However,if the cabinet is air tight then appropriate vents may be provided asillustrated at 16 as will be obvious to one skilled in the art.

In actual tests of the present apparatus and method, it was found, asexemplary, that approximately percent destruction was achieved in ISminutes. (Obviously this period could be shortened by simple changessuch as increasing the rate of oxygen flow, or other.)

By way of comparison, the time would be approximately doubled for aperson to destroy the material by many of the conventional methods.

The container remains hot and jammed closed making it very difficult foranyone to open it and giving additional time for the combustibles toburn completely.

One person can set off a multitude of containers very quickly instead ofspending valuable time hand-feeding to a fire, or shredding and burning.

The drawings illustrate the equipment somewhat in detail, but are notprecisely to scale. In an actual installation, the oxygen tube and steelscreen may be very close to the bottom, utilizing very little of thecabinet space. Indeed the center trough customarily found in the bottomof a safe drawer may be adequate for one or more oxygen tubes. Or, theoxygen may be intr0- duced through holes in the steel bottom of thedrawer, which rises abovethe center trough. Other details of design maybe resorted to as will be obvious to those skilled in the art.

If desired, other gases, or liquids, could be introduced along withoxygen to facilitate the combustion process. However, such gases orliquids should remain outside of the container to conserve valuablespace inside, to facilitate servicing and so on.

We claim:

1. In combination with a safe or storage container, means to introduceoxygen-bearing gas thereto, comprising a conduit leading from anexternal source of supply to a wall of said safe or container, passagemeans throughsaid wall and leading to the storage space therein, andpassage means'adjacent to the bottom of a compartment in said safe orcontainer to conduct and distribute said oxygen-bearing gas beneath thestorage space to facilitate the burning of combustibles therein;

said apparatus further comprising ingiter means to initiate combustion,and a fusible plug adjacent to said igniter means, said igniter meansacting to incapacitate said fusible plug upon ignition and to passoxygen-bearing gas to said safe or container.

2. Apparatus as in claim 1 and a grid to support combustibles out ofcontact with the bottom of a compartment to permit free gaseous oxygento flow beneath the combustibles to assist in the burning thereof.

3. Apparatus as in claim 2 wherein said passage means adjacent to thebottom of a compartment comprises a perforated conduit extending fromsaid passage means through said wall into the space beneath said grid.

4. Apparatus as in claim 3 wherein said perforated conduit is carried bya drawer in said safe or container and is adapted to register with saidpassage means through said wall when the drawer is closed.

1. In combination with a safe or storage container, means to introduceoxygen-bearing gas thereto, comprising a conduit leading from anexternal source of supply to a wall of said safe or container, passagemeans through said wall and leading to the storage space therein, andpassage means adjacent to the bottom of a compartment in said safe orcontainer to conduct and distribute said oxygen-bearing gas beneath thestorage space to facilitate the burning of combustibles therein; saidapparatus further comprising ingiter means to initiate combustion, and afusible plug adjacent to said igniter means, said igniter means actingto incapacitate said fusible plug upon ignition and to passoxygen-bearing gas to said safe or container.
 2. Apparatus as in claim 1and a grid to support combustibles out of contact with the bottom of acompartment to permit free gaseous oxygen to flow beneath thecombustibles to assist in the burning thereof.
 3. Apparatus as in claim2 wherein said passage means adjacent to the bottom of a compartmentcomprises a perforated conduit extending from said passage means throughsaid wall into the space beneath said grid.
 4. Apparatus as in claim 3wherein said perforated conduit is carried by a drawer in said safe orcontainer and is adapted to register with said passage means throughsaid wall when the drawer is closed.